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Gemini Variants
This page is under construction for clarity. The information is sound but needs to meet a higher standard. =Main Variants= There are 2 main variants of Gemini which fundamentally change the game. This leads to 4 versions of 2 player and 4 player Gemini: Base game, with Deuces, with Twins or with both. The 'Twin' Rule The 'Twin' rule is a variation that surpasses all other suits or trump. Any lead can lead a 'twin' lead. This is essentially leading 2 tricks at once with whoever takes the tricks getting both. If players have a set of 'twins' they must follow with the set. The order counts as the power of twins and not any suit or trump considerations. The 'twin' lead essentially establishes a mini-side game inserted into normal play with its own rules, apart from all other rules. For instance, (in 2 player) if both Aces of Spades is lead as a 'twin' and you have both Jacks of Hearts, you must follow the 'twin' lead. Since 'twin' Aces beat 'twin' Jacks, both tricks are taken by the lead. This is regardless of which suit (Spades, Hearts or neither) is trump (or even if No Trump was declared). Twin order is: Big Little Ace King Queen (not included with 2 player) Jack The twist comes into play when someone cannot follow with a 'twin'. The 'twin' is considered a broken set and essentially 1 lead. The player who cannot follow with a 'twin' set must follow the lead suit (that is the suit of the lead 'twin') with their first card and the second card doesn't count so they can discard (throw off). Each player after must still follow with 'twin' sets, if possible. So if a 'twin' set is led, everyone must follow with a 'twin' set and the 'twin' order takes both tricks. If a 'twin' set is broken, those that cannot follow the 'twin' set will determine who takes both tricks (including the lead). Example 1 (left) (Clubs as trump): Player 1 leads 'twin' Aces of Spades. Player 2 (caller) has to follow 'twin' with the Left Bauer's. Player 3 follows 'twin' with Jack of Diamonds. Player 4 follows 'twin' with King of Hearts. The 'twin' order is followed and the Aces take both tricks. Example 2 (right) (Clubs as trump): Same as above except player 3 cannot follow the 'twin' lead or Spades. They have to over-trump the Left Bauer in order to win both tricks while discarding as their second card (the Left Bauer would automatically win since the 'twin' set was broken'). draft- and the player has to follow suit of the lead card (or trump if it cant be followed). The second card of the player must be played but does not have to follow anything and is considered a discard. The tricks will follow normal rules for winning the trick Deuces Double Deuces introduce new cards that are unique to Gemini. While Jacks can cross suit within the same color (Right and Left Bauer), Deuces cross suit across color. The 2 pips on each Deuce are of different suit and color so the Deuces turn out to be Spade-Heart, Spade-Diamond, Club-Heart and Club-Diamond. The Deuces drastically change strategy. They are the 'spy' cards of the realm and count as the highest trump (spying being very valuable on the battlefield). They replace the Queens (4 player) or Kings (2 player) in the deck unless your playing 9 card (see below). Trump order with Deuces is: Deuce Right Left Big Little Ace King (not included with 2 player) Queen (not included except with 9 card, see below) Remember that there are 2 of each so there are 4 Deuces of trump, 4 Jacks and 4 Jokers. Where the strategy takes a twist is that Deuces are 2 suited until played, meaning that they have to follow EITHER suit. Once played, they follow suit. Aces are the royal guard of the realm and many a spy has been caught by the royal guards. Side suit order is: Ace Deuce King (not included with 2 player) Queen (not included except with 9 card, see below) Jack (opposite color of trump only) Thus a lead of a side suit Ace (of opposite color) can force a Deuce of Trump to follow the side suit AND take it at the same time. For instance, if Spades is Trump and the Ace of Diamonds is lead, the Deuce of Spade-Diamond would have to follow suit as a Diamond (if there is no other Diamonds) and would become Non-Trump for the trick. The Ace of Diamonds would beat the Deuce of Diamonds and the Ace (royal guard) would effectively have killed a 'spy' of trump. When No Trump is called, Deuces (spy's) are very valuable although Aces (royal guards) still beat them. No-Trump order is: Ace Deuce King (not included with 2 player) Queen (not included except with 9 card, see below) Jack Big Little If a Deuce is led, it must be declared which suit it is lead as, although trump can always be assumed unless otherwise declared. Deuces must also follow a 'twin' lead (when playing with the 'twin' rule) if either suit of 2 Deuces match. For instance, a Deuce of Spade-Diamond and a Deuce of Club-Diamond would have to follow a 'twin' lead as Diamonds. Twin order is: Big Little Ace Deuce King (not included with 2 player) Queen (not included except with 9 card, see below) Jack 9 Card '9 Card' is a 4 player variant that uses all Gemini cards: Aces, Deuces, Kings, Queens, Jacks and Jokers. It can be played with or without the 'twin' rule (2 variations). Each player gets 5 cards in hand with 2 'battalions' each for a total of 9 tricks. The calling partners need to get 5 tricks while the 7th and 9th tricks double their score, following normal Gemini scoring. =Rule Variations= Many rules can be preferred to play a different way. The following gives the variants and some reasoning behind them. Jokers Wild The Joker is never turned down. During the first round of calling, any suit as trump can be called (as usual) but the Joker is not turned down for the 2nd round of calling. If any player wishes No-Trump during the second round, they must call the utility card (Joker) into the dealers hand. This variation birthed itself during 2 player play. Calling or defending No-Trump as the dealer is problematic because of the strength the opponent has with the lead. Thus the Joker's ability to guard against an aggressive lead becomes a handy card to have. Take All Any time there is an odd trick at the end that doesn't give points, the 'Take All' variation would give double points for the last trick (everything but the '9 Card' version). 2 player 'Take All' scoring: 4 player 'Take All' scoring: Sometimes when taking all tricks while not being rewarded for the last trick leads people to try the 'Take All' variation. Note that this can end the game very quickly if someone gets lucky. In the 2 player game the last trick is 8 points for the caller, while in the 4 player game the last trick is 8 points if going alone. Battalion Discard If discarding from a 'battalion', the dealer can choose to replace the face up card with the turn-up card OR take the turn-up card in hand, discard from the 'battalion' and flip the 2nd 'battalion' card over instead. It is sometimes prudent to find out what the 'battalion' cards are as soon as possible, especially when looking for something to defend a call. The 'battalion discard' rule gives more choices to the dealer.